Faded
by Crush-Chan17
Summary: Sakura thought that going to the past would be simple. That things would be predictable and that she would be able to change them after a few carefully thought out plans. But it's not that simple. Especially after she makes a decision that changes that path early on. Use to be known as 'Fading'. This is the revised version!
1. A Girl's Sweetest Nightmare

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, damn it. Dx All rights go to their respective owner(s).**

**Author's Note: This is the revised edition of what was once known as 'Fading', but will now be known as 'Faded'. Anyways, I know that the first version wasn't that amazing. It definitely has room for improvement both plot wise and grammatically. Some things were rushed, some of the moments were awkward, and relationships were forced and not well developed. Also, Sakura seemed like a Mary-sue (an author's worst nightmare!). I appreciate all of those that reviewed the original! It meant a lot.**

**That being said, I would also like to say that this story will definitely be longer so that I can develop the characters at a more believable pace and add in more scenes because it's actually quite short considering what kind of plot it is.**

**Anywho, please read and review and tell me if this is better and if I should keep revising this story!**

**...**

**REVISED EDITION**

**Chapter One: A Girl's Sweetest Nightmare**

**...**

Sakura had stared into his harsh eyes, her pain dwindling away into dull nothingness. Her body quivered as she forced herself to remove her hands away from his robes, both bloodied and shaking. Her hearing had become nonexistent and her vision grey. Everything around her had started becoming numb, but despite that all, she smiled as she fell to her knees. Her life in exchange for Naruto's had been a good decision. She knew that the moment her world started fading to black. When she could no longer feel the gentle breeze kissing her skin and Sasuke's blade which had impaled her heart; smell the dirt, blood, and leaves she had associated with home; hear Naruto's panicked voice; or when she could finally no longer gaze into those cold, dark opal orbs that she had familiarized herself with.

She was dead. She knew that. She could feel it. She opened her eyes and was not surprised to find herself in a bland area consumed by darkness. An abyss. She didn't dare look down at herself yet however. She wondered, was this what it was like to be dead? Was this a 'waiting room'? A place where she would be judged before passing on wholly?

And what she wondered most, was if her life was worth anything as a whole. Yes, she had died honorably. But . . . What about the rest of her life? Was it complete? That's when she realized that she had no regrets except two, in fact, she had lived a cherishing life full of love, friends, and a fair share of hardships.

One regret she did have was not reaching her full potential. She had been obsessed with Sasuke and allowed herself to fall behind, becoming a side-line fighter, using barking out harsh words that more than likely just provoked her enemies, and giving emotional and mental support instead back-up to her teammates. That had been who she was, defined as a weakling, even though hardly anyone had been rude enough to tell her that to her face.

She had been in denial about her weakness for a long while, but when she truly saw herself for what she was - she broke free of those bindings, her obsession, her needs - to set higher expectations for herself. That was when she had gained respect, honor, and was finally accepted as a true kunoichi.

She had been known as one of the most sought after medic ninja, the girl that followed in Tsunade's foot-steps - it had even been speculated that she had surpassed the blonde! - and to have the strength of twenty men. And now she would be known as the one that had sacrificed her life for Naruto's, her comrade and closest friend.

And her other regret was not being able to save Sasuke after he left the village. When he was still with Orochimaru she and Naruto both thought that their goal of bringing him back was achievable But when they had learned that he had actually killed Orochimaru and Itachi, then after being fed some lies, joined the Akatsuki - they knew their goal - their promises to each other - were unobtainable, not that they ever voiced it. Yet, they went on anyways - believing in a hope that was false. However, Naruto felt otherwise. He never gave up on Sasuke.

Sakura frowned and finally, albeit bitterly, gazed at her pale hands, the darkness that surrounded her swirling. The only thing she could see was a small speck of light in the distance. She tried to approach it, knowing very well that it would probably take her to either heaven or hell or some after life place - maybe even nothingness. She wasn't sure.

But one thing was certain: she was terrified; after all, death is an experience that no one in life can discuss with one. Even those that had claimed to have died for seconds, they didn't know what it was like after those few seconds. They had been revived, saved.

Sakura shivered, hugging herself. Her matured spiritual body appeared differently then her physical body. For one, any scars that she had received in life were gone and left her skin paler and glowing. She couldn't tell if there were any differences in her face, but her hair was flowing down to her waist in soft waves and it was even a shade lighter. Her body didn't have an ounce of muscle, instead when she pressed on her flat stomach she felt completely soft, not hardened with exercise.

One thing that was unnerving was her lack of clothing. She was completely nude and felt ashamed. Her body was hairless from the neck down, leaving her cold, nervous, and her cheeks flustered. She wanted to hide, but in the veil of darkness that seemed everywhere around her, she had no where to go. She had already become exhausted just from walking near the orb of light ahead of her, appearing just out of her grasp. It had left her with no energy to forge onward, to hunt for a place to hide. Though it seemed like her body was a source of light in the black abyss, unfazed by the darkness. She doubted she would find anywhere to hide anyways.

A moment passed and her thoughts raced. _Should she give up_? The thought made her nauseous. And that was her answer. She had to forge on no matter what, to at least try. Or else she may remain in the darkness, alone, nude, and forever. She couldn't allow that to happen - nor could she bear for that to happen.

She took a deep breath and forced one leg in front of her, causing what muscle she did have to tremble with fatigue, almost resulting in her to crumble to the ground beneath her. She closed her eyes and steadied herself before pushing herself into a slow paced walk. It was all she could muster up out her worn body, but it was enough, she was moving forward, toward the beauty of the light.

With each step she took, a little more of her energy was drained. It was like the light didn't want her to reach it. It was defying her efforts, pushing her back, absorbing her strength into the dark abyss surrounding her.

"Come on . . ." she moaned to herself, placing her foot down in front of her, her leg wobbling when she applied pressure to it. "You have to do this, Sakura." she said, trying to motivate herself to take another step, "If not for yourself, then for Naruto and the others that you love. Even Sasuke." she added, forcing her other foot in front of her, but that was it. She crumpled to the ground, panting. If she could sweat, her entire body would be covered in puckered up beads of the salty, clear liquid.

Sakura sniffled, reaching a hand toward the light. She felt like a failure. She wanted nothing more than to stand on her two feet and push herself onward, near the light. But no matter how much she pushed, she wasn't getting any closer. Was this her hell? Was this her punishment for the sins she had committed in life? She clenched her eyes shut tightly.

It was exhausting, draining. She was so alone and frightened. "Dammit!" she cried out, curling up into a ball. She felt like she did when she was thirteen: a weak, naive child with no real future ahead of herself. Except this time she didn't have Naruto or Sasuke to help her onto her feet like she did when she was thirteen. She was all alone to suffer through this.

She was insecure again, had no strength. This was true despair.

"Sakura, this is no time to feel self-pity."

"H-huh?" Sakura mumbled, raising her head up to face the light. It had grown three feet in diameter, shining brightly to reveal her once dark surroundings to actually be a stunning forest that eventually faded off into a white backdrop. The grass she lay on was soft as cotton and the trees around her were all cherry blossom. She stared in awe, forgetting all her shame and nudity. However, her self-loathing remained burrowed deep within her.

"Where am I . . . ?" she asked weakly as she placed her palms against the grass and tried to push herself up only to fall back down. Her strength still hadn't returned.

"A place in-between life and death," the light stated, "A place where time doesn't exist."

Sakura knotted her eyebrows together, "So, I could still be brought back to life? Or someone's trying to bring me back at the Hospital as we speak?" she had been certain she had died when all of her pain had subsided, leaving her deaf and blind. But she wasn't complaining. If there was still a chance that she could be brought back after all of that, she would be more than happy.

"Well, no you're dead in your time. There is no saving you there. However, I could bring you back," it said, a small, blue speck floating out from the orb toward her, "but you won't be in the same time."

Sakura blinked, "What do you mean?"

"You will be in the past." it said bluntly. The pinkette twitched. Then laughed. Now **_this_** was just torture. There was no way that anyone could go back in the past. It was like God or whoever was the 'higher being' was taunting her. "No one can go back in the past - no matter how badly they wish to."

The light was silent for a moment, "You will see." it finally said, "Take this gift and you will find a truth you didn't expect."

Sakura eyed the blue speck as it drifted closer to her, "I don't understand - who are you? And if this was possible, which I don't believe it is, then why would you offer someone such an offer? Wouldn't that mean that anyone could die and come back to life, in the past no less, and change certain events?"

"I am just a follower that was bestowed with the responsibility of being the guardian of time and memories." he answered, glowing brighter as if prideful of his duties, "I carry out His will; and He was the one who asked me to offer you this gift. No one else before or after - just you."

Sakura remained skeptical but decided to hear him out, "What's the catch?"

"You won't be able to come back to the present time - you will have to relive your life."

"I won't have my memories or anything?" she squeaked, not liking that idea. It would mean that she would just have to relive the same pain twice - and that was something that didn't sound all too thrilling to her.

The light chuckled softly, "You will be the only one to retain memories of this time, you will even retain your current kunoichi abilities." he said, "So, do you accept this offer?"

"I guess it won't hurt to see if it's true." Sakura replied, "And if it does, then thank you." she said. If this was all true, not a way to punish her, then she would be thankful. She would have the chance to save Sasuke and prove her worth and just make things**_ better_**. And that was something to be grateful for.

"Hold your hand out." the light directed, snapping Sakura out of her reverie.

"Okay . . ." she muttered, extending her hand out in front of her from her laying position, her palm upward. Suddenly the blue speck glowed brighter and perched itself on her palm. Immediately she felt light-headed and tingly. Then, without any warning, her entire body started going numb, but she didn't panic. There was something soothing about the numbness as it took away her fatigue and eased her off into unconsciousness.

* * *

Sakura awoke when she felt a heavy pressure on her chest. She gasped, her eyelids fluttering open, and she sat up. She was panting heavily and sweating just as much. She gulped, her breathing slowing its pace as she stared at her surroundings. She was in the familiarity of her room. White walls, one window on the wall adjacent to her futon with the morning sun illuminating the room, a dresser right across from her, and a full-body length mirror beside it.

She blinked - she was really in the past! She had died at the border of the Fire Nation, not in her room - not even in Konoha! That meant that she really would get to change things - right? This wasn't some genjutsu! Just to be sure she did a hand seal and whispered, "Release!" when nothing happened, she was more than relieved.

Sakura yawned, a big grin across her face. She shouldn't have doubted His follower or Him. There was actually a higher being out there that was generous enough to give her back her life and offer her a chance to make a difference in her past. She was beyond grateful and she promised to make changes. After all, she didn't want to disappoint Him by slacking off or not doing anything. If she was successful in saving Sasuke she would save so many lives. Especially plenty of ninja and innocents in Konoha. Maybe that's why He had brought her back in the first place? An unbalance of some sort . . .

What ever His reasons were, Sakura was just thankful for what He had done for her. She wouldn't question him. Instead, she would just do what she thought was right and hope that those decisions would end with the results that she was aiming for. And the results she desired were as followed: save Sasuke, be a better ninja, treat Naruto better like she did in what use to be her present time, and prevent some other tragedies to help her fellow ninja out.

She threw her covers off of her and tossed her feet off the bed and onto the wooden floor. Once she was standing she rushed over to her mirror and stared at her reflection. What she saw instead of a mature body was that of an adolescent caught in that awkward stage in-between a child and an adult. Her body lacked curves, her breasts were nearly flat, and her hair was flowing to her mid-back. Also, she noted after scanning her body through her loose white shirt that she always slept in, was that her arms, legs, and stomach still had a little bit of baby fat - as did her face.

She didn't even realize she had lost it when she had gotten older.

"Sakura!" That was her mother. She always had called to make sure she was up. It was sweet that she crawled out of bed at early hours just make sure she was up and left the house with a warm breakfast settling in her stomach.

"Yes, mom?" she finally hollered back after a moment of silence, looking at the calender beside her mirror. It was turned to the month of May - all the days crossed out in red marker until the fifteenth. That was the same day team seven went on their mission to the Land of Waves. How could she have forgotten? She had been rather pathetic on that mission . . .

"You better hurry and get ready if you want to eat some toast and eggs before you head off to train."

"I will!" Sakura retorted, crossing her arms, a fond smile playing on her lips. Her mother and bribes of breakfast. Before she would sometimes be rude with her mother because of her 'diets'. Which usually meant her starving herself - it had been dumb really. She had taken the luxury of having a home-cooked breakfast for granted because of her obsession with Sasuke. It was pathetic. And the more she looked back at herself when she was this age before, the more she realized that simple, blunt truth.

Her actions towards Sasuke had been wanton and embarrassing. She should have been - and now was - ashamed of herself for them. It was obvious how uncomfortable he had been around her, yet she had blatantly chose to ignore it. How naive.

And not only that - they way she had treated Naruto as if he was just an nuisance when it really was her all along was just unacceptable. But the team didn't say anything. They had just pulled her weight for her without complaints and treated her like she was apart of the team, allowing her to claim half the glory and half the credit when they should have been harsh with her. Occasionally Sasuke would comment, saying how 'annoying' she was. But that was just about it.

She turned her eyes back to her reflection and glared. "First thing's first." she muttered, gazing over to her dresser that was cluttered with perfumes, lotions, hair accessories and jewelry. She picked up a black hair band from her dresser and pulled most of her hair up into a high ponytail, leaving her shoulder length bangs down to frame her face.

Sakura had always preferred herself with long hair, but it had always been more convenient to keep it a shorter length. This time around however she planned on keeping it tied up out of the way. And it definitely wasn't to please Sasuke. Before she had, had long tresses just because she had heard the girls at the Ninja Academy gossiping about the Uchiha and had stated that he adored girls with long hair.

How childish.

Instead of hiding who she really was and dumbing herself down, she should have tried to win Sasuke over the right way: being herself and fighting along side of him as a comrade. He had started to respect her (she thinks) when she started standing up for herself, fighting, and learning and having her own opinions. But before he could really see her mature and change, he had left. Her heart clenched painfully in her chest. That was still a sensitive subject.

She shook her head.

But now she wasn't trying to win Sasuke over. She was more interested in preventing him from abandoning Konoha. She would be content if they didn't get together - just as long as he stayed and was her comrade, then she would be happy.

Sakura yawned and stretched her arms high above head. If she was going for a different persona, she better start picking out her new attire. One that would be convenient for a ninja, yet appropriate for a young teen such as herself. Besides, if she wanted her teammates to think differently of her, a new look was the best place to start.

She approached her dresser and opened the top drawer where she kept her shirts. After rummaging around for a few moments she pulled out a dark navy blue long-sleeved shirt that most ninja wore underneath their green vests and laid it out on her bed. She then went back to her dresser, closed the top drawer, and opened the second drawer where she kept her pants, skirts, and shorts. She dug through the neatly folded clothing until she found a pair of black shorts. They were decently short, but they would be loose and light enough for better mobility.

She quickly changed into her new outfit, pushing her sleeves to her elbows, and put on her ninja equipment and adjusted her headband in her hair before heading down stairs. Her ninja sandals were at the front door but those would have to wait until after she had breakfast she decided.

"It's about time you got here." Mebuki, Sakura's mother, said, eyeing her daughter over with a pointed, green gaze. "What are you wearing?" she questioned, a look of surprise on her face, "It looks good - but don't you think those shorts are a little - uh - short?" she added, placing a hand on her hip, "Your father would have a cow if he saw you in them."

"Mom," Sakura laughed, descending to the foot of the stairs, "they're easier to get around in."

"I see," Mebuki muttered and arched her eyebrows before going back into the kitchen with Sakura right on her heels. "You really look more like a ninja - so I guess it's not a problem." she laughed, pulling out a wooden chair at the table and sat down.

"Thanks mom." Sakura chirped, pulling out a chair across from her mother where her food awaited and sat down. She immediately picked up a piece of toast and took a bite. The taste of strawberry jelly and toasted bread made her tongue feel like it was in heaven. She gulped down a bite and put it back down onto the china plate before grabbing her glass with faded yellow ducks on it and took a drink of apple juice.

"You're welcome! Now you better hurry off - you're running a bit behind."

Sakura nearly strangled on her apple juice, "What?" she screeched and checked the clock hanging on the wall beside her. She was already fifteen minutes behind. "Bye! Love you!" she yelped, leaving her breakfast behind. She hurried into the living room, put her sandals on, and scurried out of the house. Sasuke and Naruto were definitely going to say something. If she recalled correctly she had always bee the one hounding them (namely Naruto and especially Kakashi) when they were late.

Some hypocrite she was . . .

* * *

When Sakura arrived at their 'usual' meeting spot - a thick wooden bridge hovering over a small stream of water - she was greeted by a rather surprised looking Naruto and an annoyed Sasuke. From their opposite positions on the bridge they stared hard at her. Naruto gaped at her like a fish out of water, his mouth opening and closing over and over. She smirked; so they noticed her change in appearance. Hopefully they noticed the change in her aura as well.

"Wow, Sakura," Naruto mumbled, a blush on his face, "you look so different!"

"These are easier to move around in and they'll keep me cooler in this summer heat." Sakura explained, walking onto the bridge and standing beside Naruto, glancing at Sasuke out of the corner of her eye. His onyx orbs were still locked on her but he said nothing, which she had anticipated. She didn't mind though, she was just relieved to see him being his actual self. Not that murder lust, emotionless one.

Well . . .

He was almost emotionless now, but at least there was an arrogant and teasing glow in his eyes when they were thirteen. He would even show feelings such as surprise, anger, mischief, and sometimes even concern. But the Sasuke when they were seventeen was as cold as ice. His eyes held no emotions, his actions were only carried out swiftly with a pit of rage backing them up. It almost - no it did - scare her. Even after he teamed back up with them for a short amount of time to take down Madara and Obito, she knew something was off.

But maybe, just maybe, she could save this Sasuke. The one that had been on Team Seven with her, Naruto, and Kakashi. The one that had called her annoying, the one that had protected her, the one that had always been competing with Naruto.

Team Seven's Sasuke.

"Well you look - uh - nice." Naruto interjected, grinning in a foxy manner that was so fitting of him.

Sakura rolled her eyes, a smile on her face, "Thanks Naruto."

"Believe it!" He chimed, pleased that she didn't blow up on him for the compliment. Maybe Sakura had woke up feeling really good or something? Usually she would have nailed him right in the head for that. "You know you seem different today."

"I feel different," Sakura replied, placing the tip of her index finger against her chin, "Guess what?"

"What?" Naruto said, cocking his head to the side. Sakura never wanted to talk to him so casually before.

"I know it's kind of sudden- and completely random. But I want to show you something." she stated proudly, placing her hands on her hips. This was the perfect excuse to show off some minor medical jutsu. She knew people, namely Naruto and Kakashi, would be hounding her about how she learned such things if she did them unexpectedly later on. So, why not say she had been studying them on the side? Also she could say for her super strength that she had heard about Lady Tsunade's abilities and had decided to learn on her own as well. It sounded good enough to her.

Naruto blinked, "Really?"

"Yeah!" she answered, taking a kunai out of the back of her pouch. Naruto jumped back in surprise.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing, Sakura-chan?!" he blared, backing away from the pinkette as she made her approach. "I know you severely dislike me but attempting to kill me off is taking it a little far, don't you think? Sasuke help!" Sakura rolled her eyes at him.

"Calm down, Naruto." she said, "I'm not going to kill you. Just let me see your hand."

"Shew," Naruto sighed, holding his hand out to her. Sakura snatched his hand in her right one, leaving it backside up. "I was seriously scared for a second - ouch!" he yelped when she made a small gash across the back of his hand. "What the hell?!"

"Before you go off on another rant, just watch." she commanded softly, biting her bottom lip when she caught Sasuke analyzing her actions curiously from his spot across from them. He stood from his leaned position against the railing and straightened his spine, his eyes never leaving hers and Naruto's hands. He was about to dub her as being useful to the team. She just knew it.

Naruto cocked his head to the side with confusion when Sakura hovered her free hand above his wound. "What are you -" he paused when a soft green light enveloped Sakura's hand - visible chakra. The blonde blinked in surprise when Sakura's chakra soothed his wound, numbing it, then sealed the skin shut.

"Very impressive."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura beamed. He actually wasn't that damn late for once. Thirty minutes, a new record for him.

Kakashi's eyes scrunched up, notifying them that he was, indeed, grinning behind his mask. "So, Sakura," he began, now eyeing the female out of the group.

"Yes, sensei?" she questioned, playing innocent. On the inside she was cheering for herself. Kakashi had noticed her for once. Well, technically, it was her fault he hadn't noticed her before. She had came off as a strawberry bimbo that only had book-smarts and a huge crush on Sasuke going for her. Yeah, she had made some first impression all right.

Kakashi pulled out his Make-Out Paradise book and held it down at his waist and leaned against the railing beside Sasuke. "When did you start learning medical jutsu? It seems a little advanced for a recently made Genin."

Sakura twirled a strand of her hair between fingers, "I have been studying for a while, but I didn't have the nerve to try it until last night." she answered, "I got my inspiration from Lady Tsunade."

"Hm," he mumbled, "Interesting. That ability could come in handy once we start attending more difficult assignments."

"Yeah," she accorded, genuinely excited, "I thought so too."

"Good," Kakashi retorted then averted his attention to Sasuke then to Naruto then back to Sakura, "All right team," he said, "We have a mission."

"Hell yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air, "Is it a real ninja mission, sensei? Will we fight deadly ninja and protect beautiful women?"

"No." Kakashi stated, causing Naruto to drop over, "Our mission is to find Torah the cat."

"What the hell?" Naruto shrieked, his eyes bulging out of socket, "That's not a ninja mission - that's - that's more of a mission for just some random hobo on the side of the street! Who would even have the nerve to go to the Hokage and pay for something so ridiculous?"

"Naruto," Kakashi said in a warning tone, "each mission, no matter how insignificant, counts."

"Actually, sensei," Sakura interjected, clasping her hands behind her back and rocking on her heels, "I think it would be best if we actually went on a mission that would give us some real experience. Rescuing a cat won't help us improve as shinobi." she stated, crossing her arms across her chest, "Besides for the past weeks all we have been doing is saving strays, picking up trash, and tending gardens for people." she then added, "That's not teaching us a thing about how to be a ninja, except maybe teamwork which is important, but still . . ."

"Yeah!" Naruto huffed, pushing out his bottom lip in a childish manner. He didn't care though, he just really wanted to go on a more challenging assignment to hone his skills. After all, the Hokage wasn't trained in cat rescuing.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted in approval, crossing his arms.

Kakashi sighed, "All alright, I guess we'll go speak with the Hokage."

* * *

**That's all for now! I know she went further into her past than before, but it's a way for me to develop relationships through the story better- make it flow and be less OCC (which I'm trying my hardest to prevent by all means).**

**Anyways, please tell me what you think and if I should continue to revise the story ( :**

**Cheers;**


	2. One Old Dude And A Couple of Ninja

**Author's note: First I would like to apologize for the long ass wait. I really had lost interest in this story and well, my mind wondered and life happened, then BAM I forgot about ever revising this. But to make up for it, this chapter will be long. Anyways, I would like to thank those that reviewed the first revised chapter of this. Especially Nuria Sato for inspiring me to get back on track with this story. ( :**

**On another note, this chapter will be about them heading to the Land of Waves and somethings that happen along the way. Of course, it doesn't follow the canon side-by-side. There are differences and things added in. Obviously. Please leave a review!**

**...**

**REVISED EDITION**

**Chapter Two: One Old Dude And A Couple of Ninja**

**...**

The moment they entered the Hokage's office, Sakura's heart clenched painfully in her chest, her apple green gaze wide and quivering as she locked eyes with Hiruzen Sarutobi himself. He had suffered an untimely death at the hands of Orochimaru in what she had dubbed the 'old' future, and she remembered the pain she and everyone else had felt after losing such a kind, caring, influential being. It had been hard. And it was just as difficult and surreal to see him alive, well, and in the flesh, _right in front of her _no less.

All she wanted to do was run up to him and warn him about the Chunin Exams. But now wasn't the best time. She bit down on her bottom lip hard. She couldn't blabber, 'Hey! I'm from the future and I know for a fact if you hold the Chunin Exams this year in Konoha that you will be slaughtered by the slimy hands of your former student, Orochimaru!' There was no way that he, or anyone else in the room would believe her. Especially since at this point in time Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke didn't really have a good grasp of her character. They would think that they were working with a deranged, hormonal preteen with a whacked up imagination.

"Kakashi, is something wrong?" Sarutobi inquired, placing the pen he had in his hand down on the wooden surface of his cluttered desk, his gray eyebrows arched high on his tan and withered-with-age forehead. Sakura saw Kakashi shrug his shoulders out of the corner of her eye.

"Well -"

"We're sick of having stupid missions where we go on wild goose chases for stray animals or where we pick trash up out the river because some people got too lazy to walk five feet to a trashcan! We want a real mission!" Naruto blared, enthusiastically pumping a tan fist in the air. Iruka, who had was sitting beside the Hokage blinked in surprise. Sakura bit back a chuckle. _Same old Naruto_.

"Naruto!" Iruka screeched, "Don't speak to the Hokage like that!"

"It's fine, Iruka," the Hokage said, waving his subordinate off. "Naruto, being a ninja is so much more than mission ranks. It's about helping and protecting those you care about. The village -" After that Naruto drowned out the elderly Hokage with his own rant about ramen.

"So, do you guys like ramen?" Naruto inquired. Sasuke 'hn'ed as usual and Sakura nodded her head.

"It's okay. A certain friend of mine burnt me out on it though." she said, her eyes accusing him silently. Naruto looked back at her flabbergasted.

"How could you get burnt out on ramen?!" he screeched, plopping down on the floor Indian-style. He propped his left elbow up on his knee and rested his head in the palm of his hand. "Like this one time I had miso ramen, but it was spoiled, and I didn't know it was spoiled, so, like, I ate it anyways, even though it did have some questionable green stuff in it. I was like well, hell, it's still ramen, no point in wasting it -"

"Naruto!" The three Genin plus their Jonin leader jumped, their attention back on the fuming Hokage. "Have you even listened to a word I have said?!"

"Come on, old man!" Naruto said, standing to his feet. "Haven't we done enough of the same missions here in Konoha?"

"Yeah." Sakura interjected. "If we ever have any hope of becoming Chunin or Jonin ranked ninja, we'll need experience outside of the village." Sarutobi sighed in defeat and shook his head. Perhaps it was time to let Naruto spread his wings.

"Fine."

"YES!" Naruto whooped, jumping up and down in the air excitedly.

"I have a C-rank mission for you four then." he stated, snatched up one of the scrolls off his desk, and tossed it to Kakashi. The Jonin caught the scroll with ease and unrolled it. "You four will be escorting a man by the name of Tazuna to the Land of Waves, where you will then oversee the construction of a new bridge. This mission will last until all construction is complete."

"Awesome!" the young, blonde haired shinobi chimed enthusiastically. Sakura smiled softly at Naruto's energy. He always had been so hyped about their missions. "So, where's this Tazuna guy?"

"Come on out, Tazuna." Sarutobi said loudly. The door behind them flew open to reveal a middle-aged man with tan skin, gray hair, bespectacled opal eyes, and a thick middle-section. In his hand he carried a bottle of sake. Sakura felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. She had actually missed that man, despite his tough, drunk demeanor, he was actually kind and caring. He had just seen rough days.

"These are the ninja that are suppose to escort me?" Tazuna growled in disbelief. "Is this a joke? Especially that idiotic short one." Naruto burst out laughing.

"Haha, he so called one of you guys stupid!" the blonde exclaimed huddled over.

"Actually, he was talking about you." Sakura said, pulling Sasuke and Naruto close to her to measure their height. Naruto jumped in horror when he realized that he was, in fact, the shortest of the three, Sasuke being the tallest.

"Who are you calling an idiot, you stupid old dude?!" Naruto barked, leaping at Tazuna. Sakura and Sasuke both latched onto his arms and held him back.

"Point proven." Tazuna said with a roll of his eyes.

"There is no need to worry, Tazuna-san." Kakashi intervened, stepping around his students so that the bridge builder could view his face. The white-headed Jonin crinkled up his visible eye. "I am a Jonin ranked ninja fully capable of taking care of you if my students fail to do so. Which these three are skilled despite their young age."

"Yes, Kakashi is one of Konoha's best." Sarutobi corroborated with a nod. Tazuna glanced between the two before his shoulders slumped and he bobbed his head in defeat.

"Well, alright then." he said, taking a swig from his bottle then wiping his moistened lips with the back of his hand. "I'll take your word for it." he muttered, finally caving. Kakashi nodded and averted his attention to his three subordinates.

"You three. Get ready and meet up at the village gates at noon."

* * *

"Your first mission outside of the village and you could possibly be gone for a month." Sakura's mother complained, watching her daughter pack some extra clothes in her yellow, one strapped backpack from the doorway. Sakura sighed and stuffed a pair of striped underwear in her bag.

"Mom," she said, stood, and headed towards her bedroom door where he mom was, "you act as if I'm not coming back or something."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of!" she clucked, following her daughter into the bathroom like a worrisome hen.

"I'll be fine. Promise." Sakura assured her, raiding the cabinets for her toothbrush, deodorant, razor, and some necessary feminine products such as shampoo, conditioner, body wash, ectera.

Once she was done packing said items into her backpack she turned to her worried mother and embraced her tightly. "Please be careful out there."

"I will! I promise!" Sakura said with a laugh. "I have three strong men to protect me, remember?" she added and stuck out her tongue childishly. Her mother shook her head and rolled her eyes, a smile playing on her lips.

"They better protect my little girl or I'll have to kill 'em."

"Exactly!" the pinkette encouraged as she headed out to the hallway. "Now, I've got to go." she added as they neared the living room. "Tell dad that I love him."

"Okay, I will Saki." she said and plopped down on the black, leather futon in the center of their insanely small living room. Sakura gave her an appreciative smile as she slipped into her navy blue ninja sandals. She really had to pick up some boots. They were much more comfortable than her ankle sandals. Plus they gave her half an inch in height.

"Bye mom," Sakura said, giving her mom a glance before she opened the front door. "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

The streets of Konoha were bustling as usual during noon. Women and men all went about their daily lives, either rushing to work or running errands or just relaxing with their friends. Some of the children that were too young to be in classes played happily near the base of trees with their friends while others were being mischievous.

Sakura smiled softly at the innocence of everything. The familiarity of it all.

Because of the war in the old future things in Konoha or any of the other ninja villages had been tense. People were afraid to leave their homes while others worried that if they stayed inside that they wouldn't be able to flee in case of an invasion of some sort. They worried about if they would just make it to the next day. It was rough. Therefore, seeing the village before it was destroyed by Pein, joyous and homely, warmed her heart to the very core. She bit her lip.

She truly never realized what she had until it was gone.

Sakura turned the corner and started walking down another street. A very familiar street actually. As she passed by Ichiraku's Ramen stand she felt herself shake her head. That's why it was so familiar. Even after renovations in the old future it still had the same, exact look and smell. And despite the fact that she could barely stomach ramen, the place brought her comfort. She had spent many hours in that booth with Team Seven- the original and the reformed. Because of that the place beckoned her. It was like a piece of home outside of her house.

"Look who it is guys," came a bitter voice from behind Sakura. The pinkette blinked and turned on her heels only to come face-to-face with the three Genin that formed Team Ten: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji. The female of the group, Ino, had her left hand on her hip, the upper right corner of her lip snarled up, and her nose scrunched up in distaste while Shikamaru had an irritated look on his face and Choji, who was a little hefty, was stuffing potato chips in his mouth.

"Come on, Ino. Do you have to pick a fight right now?" Shikamaru questioned, tugging at the spiky brunette ponytail on the back of his head.

"Yeah, I'm on my way to meet up with my team." Sakura accorded. "But it's nice to see you three." she added kindly. Ino's eye twitched.

"I don't know what you're trying to do, Billboard-Brow, but it won't work on me." Ino said, pointing a slender, pale finger in her direction.

"I'm not 'trying' to do anything but get to the village gates." she retorted with a sigh. Ino and her had been such bitter rivals before that it was ridiculous. Of course Sakura had initiated the rivalry between the two, but she had done it for good reasons. She had lived in Ino's shadow for far too long as a child - and if she hadn't provoked the girl into becoming her rival, she never would have blossomed. She would have kept following the blonde around, shy and dependent. Her confidence never blooming.

"What kind of mission do you guys have?" Choji inquired, motioning to her packed bag. "We haven't even got to leave the village yet."

"It just a simple escort mission." Sakura answered, snickering inwardly when Ino's cheeks went red with anger. Even though she and Ino were destined to become best friends again, she couldn't help but enjoy it when she one upped the other girl.

"Damn, the Hokage has been holding out on us." Shikamaru grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Whatever. Let's go." Ino snapped, stalking off angrily.

"Later." Sakura called, turning back around and heading in the general direction of the village gates. She was glad to have Ino off her case for the time being, but she really needed to make up with her and soon. She didn't want things to stay the same, bitter and bitchy, for too much longer.

Sakura took a right at the end of the street, the village gates visible from where she was, yet still quite a distance. She frowned. She felt a familiar presence and looked to her left. It was Sasuke. Her heart nearly leaped into her throat in shock. Since she had came back to the past, she hadn't been in too close of quarters with Sasuke. Not that she really had the time. Still . . .

A part of her had been avoiding close contact with the Uchiha.

After seeing what he had become in the old future, it was hard for Sakura to even look at him the same. She knew that Sasuke and Naruto had to fight to have closure and that she shouldn't have intervened. But she couldn't stand by and watch Naruto die. Had Sasuke been the one wounded and about to be killed, despite her anger toward him, she still would have jumped in the way. If not to protect him, then to prove a point to both of them. That fighting wasn't always the answer. Especially in that certain situation.

"H-Hey, Sasuke." Sakura stammered, glancing over at the Uchiha with uncertainty. She mentally kicked herself for stuttering. She had come off as a needy fangirl unintentionally. She could feel the tension thicken around them.

"Hn." he said with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his white shorts. Sakura sighed and after that they were left in silence until they reached the gate.

Naruto waved enthusiastically at them as they arrived, his other hand wrapped around one of the straps of his backpack. Beside him stood Kakashi with a bored expression and on the other side of Kakashi stood an irritated Tazuna. Sakura nearly wanted to tiptoe away the awkward tension was so thick. "So, how long will it take us to get there?" Naruto suddenly inquired.

"We will reach the Land of Waves by tomorrow." Kakashi stated and turned to Tazuna, "Are you fully prepared?"

"Yeah, let's just go. The sooner we leave, the sooner I'll be home." Tazuna grumbled, stepping through the gate without hesitation, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke right behind him. Sakura took a deep breath and followed.

* * *

Five hours. Twenty minutes. And forty seconds.

That was how long they had been walking and it was barely past five o'clock. They had taken a ten minute break two hours ago, but Sakura's untrained body was already fatigued, the bottoms of her feet sore, and her breathing hitched. She would have to commit herself to endurance exercises when she got the chance. That much was certain.

Beside her Sasuke walked in silence, a contemplative look upon his face, eyes blank. There wasn't a drop of sweat on his skin, or what was of visible of his flesh. Same for Kakashi and Naruto. The only one that even looked remotely as tired as she was feeling was Tazuna, but that was expected of a civilian. Especially an older civilian with a little weight packed around his mid-section. She was a twelve-year-old kunoichi, well, physically, with little fat latched to her frame. There was no excuse for her exhaustion.

Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt something wet and cold splash up on her shin and toes. She blinked and looked down. _A water puddle? It hasn't rained in the Fire Nation in weeks!_ She tensed up. She had forgotten about the Hidden Mist shinobi that ambushed them on their way to the Land of Waves.

A glance in Kakashi's direction let her know that he had noticed the puddle as well. His hands weren't as deeply tucked into his pockets anymore and his shoulders were pinched back slightly, spine erect yet relaxed enough to appear casual. He didn't want to alert Mist ninja. Smart thinking.

Sakura kept her body lax, her emerald gaze darting toward the tree tops. She attempted to sense the mist-nins' chakra to no avail. Sasuke and Naruto's immense chakras blocked her senses, mainly Naruto's however, as he did not yet know how to mask his. Sasuke's was only noticeable because he was directly beside her.

The kunoichi sighed and decided to anticipate their attack, whenever it may be, prepared to protect her teammates and their client at all cost. That was her duty after all.

Thirty minutes passed before the Hidden Mist shinobi made their move. And just like before the enemy went for their highest ranked: Kakashi. Chains shot out of the bushes lining the dirt path on which they traversed, winding around Kakashi's slender body. The man feigned pain with a deep, throaty holler, the sharp chains digging deep into his skin. The chains shook from resistance momentarily, before tearing Kakashi to shreds. Blood, meat, and bones flew everywhere. The sight was repulsive. Sakura placed a hand over her mouth in disgust.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto howled in despair, eyes wide, voice quivering and loud. Tazuna looked at Kakashi's 'remains' with a horrified expression, body rigid. Sasuke didn't hesitate however. He pulled out a kunai and crouched into a defensive stance, a dangerous look in the depths of his onyx irises.

"You're all going to die." one of the Hidden Mist ninja stated, leaping out from the bush, his comrade joining him. They were both cloaked in dark-colored tattered ponchos and camouflage pants, bindings on their upper arms, and strange masks on their faces. But what stood out was the claw-like gloves upon their hands, lethal and intimidating. Not that she was the least bit frightened. Not like the first time she faced the two men.

"And you're next." the other trilled coming up behind Naruto, right arm pulled back tightly. The second mist ninja was quick to join his comrade, circling around Naruto, arm drawn back as well. Then both shot a chain from the strange contraption on their arms that flew toward the orange clad ninja, but like last time Sasuke leaped into the air and threw a shuriken and kunai, pinning the chains into the trunk of a nearby tree with a loud 'clang'.

"I can't get loose!" The mist ninja barked, tugging at his arm. But it was no use. Sasuke executed a perfect front flip and landed with one foot on the trapped arms of both mist-nin. He then commenced to drop his weight onto his palms and use his momentum to kick the enemy ninja in the face, successfully breaking their chains and sending them backwards.

Both recovered quickly however, stumbling to their feet. One stayed by Sasuke to preoccupy him while the other started charging in Tazuna's direction. _This is it!_ Sakura reminded herself, aligning herself in the path of harm. She readied her fist with a small amount of chakra and lunged on her tiptoes forward, mouth pulled down into a tight, focused scowl.

"Charging at me with nothing but your bare fist. Ha. Pathetic, little girl." the man snapped as they neared each other. Sakura smirked and threw her fist at the man's face. He managed to dodge her fist by ducking and throwing his own punch. Sakura gasped and evaded the brunt of the attack, receiving a small gash in the side by his claws.

_Damn it! My body's slower than my mind!_ It was a con to being in her younger body. She grunted and brought her leg around, more chakra pumped into the limb this time, humiliated that she had been wounded. The kick connected, breaking each and every rib in the man's frame and sent him flying into a nearby tree, unconscious.

Sakura panted and stared at the limp ninja, hand over the bloody wound on her side. Based on her slightly blurred vision, the claws bore poison. Suddenly she heard the other mist ninja grunt and the commotion cease. She blinked and turned around to see Kakashi standing beside Sasuke whom had his foot on top of the other mist ninja's head, arms crossed.

"Sakura, that wound." Kakashi muttered approaching her side. "You and Naruto both got injured. We'll have to return to the village right away." he said, concern focused on her side before turning toward Tazuna, a flash of anger in his eyes. "As for you, you lied to us. This is at least a B-rank mission or higher."

Tazuna looked ashamed as he opened his mouth to speak. "I -"

"Don't worry about it." Sakura interjected as she pulled Naruto over to her with one hand, a kunai in the other. Naruto looked at her, startled, eyes wide.

"What are you doing?" he inquired as she pierced his hand with the kunai. He didn't even flinch this time, instead he allowed her to squeeze the poison out of his skin. She then put the kunai back in her pouch and hovered her hand over his wound, her emerald hued chakra visible once more. A moment later his wound was healed up completely. "Oh, thanks!"

"Well, we still have to get you back. You're wound is a lot worse." Kakashi stated with a stern shake of his head, "There's no need to push our luck."

"I can extract the poison." Sakura retorted, lifting her shirt with her right hand while she focused her chakra around her left. She commenced to place her hand over the gash on her side and clamped her eyes shut. She focused hard and found the poison trying to invade her liver. She quickly extracted the venom and jerked her hand back, the poison in her palm. She discarded the substance on the ground and cleaned her hand up.

"I'm impressed with your medical jutsu, Sakura. As with your sudden strength to combat an opponent hand-to-hand." Kakashi said. "But you need to work on agility and evasive techniques. But over all you did well." he added then turned toward Sasuke. "You did a good job as well, Sasuke. You were the first to react to the situation. As for you Naruto, I . . . didn't expect you to freeze up like that."

"I know." Naruto said hotly, voice deep and low, a thoughtful look on his face. Sakura was about to ask if he was okay when his eyes suddenly snapped up, a fire in them. "I'll prove to you that I'm better than that. I'll prove to you that I have what it takes. I refuse to back down from this mission."

"I believe you." Kakashi remarked, a strange look in his eyes. He then averted his attention back to Sakura. "Heal your wound and we will be on our way."

"I'll do it later. I kind of need to recover some chakra first." Sakura muttered, a blush on her face. They all probably thought she was a weakling, again. They didn't know she had super human strength that also took a toll on her chakra reserves.

"Then we will set up camp here for the night." Kakashi said in a tone that left no room for argument. Or at least was supposed to. Sakura puffed her cheeks out, lugged her backpack off of her back, and plopped down on the ground with her legs crossed, bag in her lap. She could clearly see Sasuke and Tazuna's irritated expressions.

"That won't be necessary, sensei." she retorted, unzipping her bag and thrusting her hands into its stuffed depths. She fished around for a bit until she found what she was looking for. She then uncrossed her legs and settled on her haunches, a roll of bandages in her hand. She held the tip of the bandage roll against her naval and began wrapping her abdomen. She was done with the task in a little over a minute and a half.

Kakashi was silent. Hesitant. Then tucked his hands into his pockets and sighed, shoulders relaxed. "Let's move on then."

* * *

Night fell sooner than anyone anticipated. They had been so busy walking and thinking that they didn't even notice the sun's descent. They had set up camp just off the dirt road, all but Tazuna sleeping outside in just a sleeping bag. Kakashi assisted the older man in putting up his tent which took five minutes as it was a rather large tent.

"I'm going to go wash up and refill everyone's canteens." Sakura said, collecting her teammates and client's water containers. When she got to Sasuke he merely nodded in approval from his perch in a tree. He had a few thick branches in his arm so that they could have a small fire to cook on no doubt.

"Once you're done I want you to get a few branches and sharpen them into points. For fish." Kakashi directed. "Sasuke and Naruto, you two will have the honor of catching the fish."

"With what fishing poles, huh?" Naruto inquired, sitting cross-legged on top of his navy blue sleeping bag.

"These." Kakashi said, doing a few hand seals then touching the forefinger and middle of finger of his left hand to the band around his right wrist. One second and a puff of smoke later a seal appeared on his wrist and out came two fishing poles.

"You've got to teach me how to do that." Naruto said in awe. Sakura rolled her eyes and lifted her backpack up from the ground.

"I'll be back soon." she said, heading toward the river that was just a small distance from their campsite. Thankfully there were a thicket of bushes and trees that obscured ones vision to the river. Had it been otherwise she wouldn't be taking a dusk time dip.

"Be on constant alert, Sakura." Kakashi called after her. She nodded back to him as she disappeared into the thicket of woods, the shadows from the treetops engulfing her entire being.

Sakura traveled through the thicket with ease, sprinting through with carefully placed chakra in the bottoms of her feet. Not even a minute passed before she found herself at the river. The bank was covered in boulders and pebbles of all shapes and sizes. She frowned and neared the water, placing her bag on top of a boulder that was halfway immersed in the cool liquid and pulled out the canteens along with her bandages to re-wrap her wound. She figured it would be better to save her chakra than waste it on a small injury like the one she had sustained. It was just one, five-inch gash on her side. It was a little deep, but nothing too serious.

And nothing like when Saosori pierced straight through her stomach with a blade.

The memory sent shivers down her spine. Now, _that_ had been painful. Of course, when Naruto had clawed her arm in his Kyuubi form she nearly fainted from the pain, the dark chakra invading her body like a lethal poison.

Sakura sighed, cleared her head, and bunched the end of her shirt up in her hands. She then removed her shirt and settled on her haunches, dipping the shirt in the water and scrubbing the material together. The blood more than likely would leave a darker patch on the shirt, but because the material it was sewn of was nearly black, it wouldn't be a problem. She had two of the exact same outfit in her bag, but she wanted to save them.

After she washed each individual piece of clothing she had been wearing and laid them out on another boulder separate from the one her backpack was on, she removed her soiled bandages and stuffed them under a rock so they weren't visually available for passing ninja. She then dove into the river, the cold water forcing her to feel more alert.

The thirteen-year-old surfaced and inhaled as much oxygen as she could then sighed, fully relaxed, despite the chilly water temperature. "Finally I can scrub the dirt and sweat out of my hair and off my skin." she murmured, sighing contently as she scrubbed her filthy scalp, her hair heavy with moisture. Once she was finished with her hair she then washed off her skin and climbed back out of the river, content with her little dip.

She threw on her sandals - the rocks were too sharp to tread on without them! - and grabbed her damp underwear and shorts. Thankfully, because of the warmth from the stones that had sat in the sun all day, her clothes weren't as wet as they normally would be had she let them air dry on a line. Before she put them on, however, she removed a towel from her backpack and dried herself off. She then put both items on along with her simple, black bra. She couldn't put her shirt on until she put fresh bandages on her wound.

Sakura discarded the towel underneath another rock, not wanting to spoil her fresh clothes inside, it was tattered anyways and would not be missed, then put fresh bandages around her mid-section. She sighed and reached for her shirt, only to pause when her ears picked up a sound. It was a tree branch groaning from the weight of something - or someone - perching upon it. She squinted and peered into the veil of darkness that the trees across the river created.

The only nearby chakra that she could sense was Naruto's and he was behind her, back at the campsite. She tensed up and pretended as if nothing was there, reaching for her shirt, when a mist ninja leaped from the forest tree tops, a menacing gaze set on his face. He landed beside her and directed a slash towards her abdominal.

"Damn it!" Sakura hissed, executing a neat back-flip to get out-of-the-way, her arms crossed over her chest. She may not have had much cleavage when she was thirteen, but it was still cleavage nonetheless. She glared at the ninja, taking in his appearance.

The mist ninja was probably in his mid-twenties. He had short black hair with matching eyes and lightly tanned skin. He was clad in a tattered poncho like the other mist ninja and even had the same type of gloves. The only difference in attire was that he was missing the strange mask the other two bore.

"Where are your comrades and the bridge builder?" he demanded suddenly, his voice deep and low. "If you tell me, I'll let you live."

"Actually," Sakura began, smirk on her lips, "you should be asking _me_ to let _you_ live."

"Ha. Don't make me laugh." he retorted, removing a large, steel battle-axe off of his back. Sakura stared at the object for a moment. It was a fine piece of art, and perhaps a new tool for her. Sasuke used a sword in the old future, really, a lot of ninja did. Perhaps it was time she learned?

"Let's finish this." Sakura snapped back, chakra pumped into her hands. The man smirked and lunged forward at her at high speeds. Once in reach he slung his blade at her throat. She ducked just in time, the wind from the attack grazing her head.

"Is that all you got?" he asked, swinging his blade downward. Sakura rolled out of the way and spun on both hands and one foot, the other pumped with chakra and extended outward. Her foot connected with the front of his knee, successfully shattering the kneecap and shin of his left leg. He cried out in pain and dropped to the ground, his hands cuffed over his leg.

He laid on the ground, immobilized.

"Don't underestimate me just because I'm a girl." Sakura growled just as Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi, and Tazuna came out of the woods, all with wide eyes.

"What happened here?" Kakashi inquired as he approached and kneeled down by the mist ninja, his eyes never meeting Sakura's. Naruto and Tazuna were also staring down at the ground, the former being unusually quite, while Sasuke had his hands stuffed in his pockets and was looking to the side in an almost awkward manner.

"He didn't try anything funny on you, did he, Sakura-chan?!" Naruto demanded, cheeks red. Sakura blinked and shook her head in confusion.

"Um, no, why would you think that?" she inquired, head cocked to the side.

"You're shirt! It's . . . gone!" Naruto answered, his voice high-pitched. Sakura's face suddenly felt really hot.

"Eek! I forgot!" she squeaked, throwing her hands over her chest. The heat of the battle made her forget. She rushed over to the boulder where her shirt was and tossed it on, her cheeks burning. No wonder no one would look at her.

"Now . . . that, that's solved, can you explain what went on?" Kakashi once more asked, the tension in the air gone. Sakura nodded as she put backpack where it belong: on her back. She then went back to Kakashi's side, her eyes on the whimpering ninja writhing on the ground, his entire frame quivering with pain.

"Well, I heard a noise then out this guy popped. From across the river," she pointed in the direction, "there."

"I'll go investigate. You three keep Tazuna safe - and one of you tie him up." Kakashi commanded sternly before heading off toward the forest to search for other enemy ninja.

"You're a lot tougher than any of us thought, Sakura-chan. You've already whooped up on two mist ninja!" Naruto exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. Sasuke didn't say anything as he bound the ninja's arms with a thing of rope from his backpack.

"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or as an insult." Sakura grumbled, hands on her hips. "Whatever the case, I'm going to try out this battle-axe." she said, licking her lips, hands now out in front of her as she approached the area where the mist ninja had dropped his weapon. She bent over and picked it up with ease.

_Oh, the perks of super human strength._ She thought with a smirk, her hands readied on the ax's handle. She gave it a swing and nearly toppled over. She may have her abilities from the future, but her body certainly wasn't up to par. She frowned, disappointed. She would just have to buy a weapon better fitted for her back in Konoha.

"Let me try!" Naruto interjected, holding his hands out for the weapon. Sakura nodded and handed him the weapon, the top immediately hit the ground and burrowed itself into the soil. Naruto looked at the object, flabbergasted, mouth gaped open. "I didn't expect it to weigh so much." he muttered, lifting it up. He then gave it a swing and toppled over to the ground.

Sasuke looked at him with a blank expression. Naruto glared back in return. Sasuke kept his blank gaze in tact. Naruto crossed his arms, the weapon forgotten. "It's a stupid weapon anyways."

" . . . Dumb ass."

* * *

It was her turn to keep watch. And of course, it was the second shift of the night. Naruto had got first, which was the easiest shift of all in her opinion. With first shift you were still alert, not sluggish from a few hours of sleep like she was. Sakura rubbed at her eyes with the backs of her hands, a yawn passing through her lips. It was probably one o'clock or a little after.

They had settled in for the night around seven, but didn't sleep until ten. Naruto took the first two-hour shift, guarding until midnight. She was the next two-hour shift, twelve to two. Then Sasuke, two to four. Then Kakashi would get up at four and stay up for the remainder of the day. He would wake them around six and they would eat a small breakfast consisting of fish no doubt, refill their canteens once more, then pack up camp and head out.

At least that was always the plan before.

Sakura stretched her arms above her head, her foot steps quiet as she paced around the camp, her eyes adjusted to the darkness in the forest. The fire was snuffed out just before they laid down. They didn't want to alert any nearby ninja. Again.

"Just twenty more minutes." Sakura murmured to herself, her sleeping bag calling her name from a few yards away. And oh did it look warm and comforting.

"You can go on and sleep." a deep, husky voice said behind her. Sakura jumped and turned on her heels, one hand over her heart, the other wrapped tightly around a hastily drawn kunai. She relaxed once she realized whom it was that had snuck up behind her.

"Sasuke," she said, her breath returning to equal intervals. She didn't catch him twitch. "Um, it's fine. It's just twenty minutes."

"I'm already awake." he stated, arms crossed. That was his 'don't argue with me' stance at the current moment. Sakura huffed and shook her head.

"But - "

"Just do it." Sasuke insisted, walking away, eyes already scanning the perimeter.

"You're so stubborn." Sakura retorted, cheeks puffed out as she stormed after him like a child about to throw a tantrum. "I know you don't think I'm a capable kunoichi, but I can do this."

"I don't recall saying that." Sasuke bit back, causing Sakura to freeze up. Did he just say that?

"But . . . during our survival test, I was useless. Just dead weight - a hindrance - to our team." Sakura murmured, now staring down at her feet. She never did forgive herself for her weakness before. When she thought about it, she felt ashamed and humiliated.

"Hn. You're annoying." Sasuke said, turning away and heading deeper into the forest. Sakura felt a small smile tug at her lips. He didn't insult her like she had thought he would. Maybe being called annoying wasn't so bad, after all.

"Um, thanks for taking over my watch. I'll repay the favor some time." Sakura called softly after him. Sasuke paused in mid-step and shrugged his shoulders.

"Hn."

* * *

"Sakura-chan! Wake up!"

"Eeeha!" Sakura screeched slamming her fist into Naruto's face, sending him flying ten feet into the air. She sat up, panting. "What the hell, Naruto?" she snapped, shivering as the cool morning air enveloped her body. The sun was barely up in the sky, there was a small fire in the center of the camp, and Kakashi, Tazuna, and Sasuke were already cooking their fish.

"Ow, ow, ow. I don't think I've ever been punched that hard in the face - and believe me, I've been sacked in the face a lot." he whined, sitting up, two sticks in his right-hand with fish jabbed on the ends, his other hand rubbing the knot forming on the side of his face.

"Well, you should know better than to surprise a ninja when they're sleeping, you oaf." Sakura grumbled in response, getting out of her sleeping bag. She then pulled her hair up and adjusted her headband in her hair, her bangs down cuffing her face.

"Yeah, yeah. Here's your fish by the way." Naruto muttered, standing to his feet, taking a stick in each hand and extending one out to her. Sakura smiled appreciatively and took the stick.

"Thank you." she said, going to sit in-between Kakashi and Tazuna on the ground and stuck her fish in the fire. Naruto followed suit, sitting beside Sasuke, his fish immediately being dipped into the fire.

"It was nothing." Naruto said, turning the stick in his hands, "Kakashi-sensei, how much longer until we reach the Land of Waves?" Kakashi, whom had eaten his fish without everyone noticing, cuffed his chin between the forefinger and thumb of his right-hand gave a thoughtful hum. Then he moved his hands back to his lap.

"We have about a two-hour walk until we reach the coast. Then we'll have a ten minute boat ride to the Land of Waves and so much walking to reach Tazuna-san's house." Kakashi answered. Naruto groaned.

"My house is about a thirty minute walk from the docks. Not too far actually." Tazuna pointed out and then took a big bite off of his fish's side.

"Righttt." Naruto, the most impatient of them all, grumbled as he pulled his fish out of the fire. He blew on its scales until it cooled then took a ginormous chunk out of it.

"After you get done eating, start packing." Kakashi directed as he stood and headed in the general direction of his sleeping bag and backpack. Sasuke and Tazuna were the first to join in cleaning up. Then Naruto. Then Sakura.

It didn't take long for the ninja to pack their belongings. They just had to roll up their sleeping bags and snuff out the fire after all. Tazuna on the other hand had to pack his sleeping bag and tent. Of course, the men joined in while Sakura ventured back to the river to refill their canteens. Everyone had gulped all their water down after breakfast.

By the time Sakura returned from the river, the tent was taken down and stored in Tazuna's backpack. She blinked but didn't speak as she went around and handed everyone their proper canteen.

"Let's be off."

* * *

"This fog is impossible to see through, dattebayo!" Naruto murmured from his position on the gondola, hand cuffed to his forehead as he looked around, seeing nothing but a white wall of mist on either side.

"Quiet, kid! Do you want someone to hear us?" the boat's guide snapped quietly, "We're using the mist as a cover. Hell! I'm even rowing instead of using the motor!"

"Sorry." Naruto squeaked, his voice muffled by the hand he had clamped over his mouth. Sakura held back a chuckle, Zabuza and Haku were their main problems. Not the poorly trained mist ninja that they had ran into thus far. Therefore, they didn't have much to worry about until they reached land and were isolated on the forest-clad path to Tazuna's house.

"Tazuna-san, I have to ask something of you." Kakashi interjected suddenly, a serious expression in the depths of his only visible eye. Tazuna bowed his head forward slightly, his lip pursed.

"Yes, what is it?" he inquired, knowing well what Kakashi was about to request.

"I need you to tell me the truth. Why you didn't request a B-rank mission or higher, knowing well that this was beyond our job description?" he said, "Or else the moment this boat reaches its destination, we'll leave."

"Do you know Gatoh? I'm sure you've heard the name at least." Tazuna began, everyone was silent. Well, Naruto had a dumbfounded look on his face. "Recently he used his wealth to buy out a majority of the Land of Waves businesses, including our trading company on the water. The citizens - even our Feudal Lord - have become broke because of it. And thugs wonder around threatening our people."

"The point?" Kakashi goaded, crossing his arms. Sakura sighed, knowing what was to be said.

"This bridge's construction threatens Gatoh's wealth." Tazuna answered.

"And since you're over the construction he's coming after you." Sasuke stated, a thoughtful look upon his stoic face. Tazuna bobbed his head.

"Yes, and if you abandon me, I'll be killed on my way home no doubts." he said, "My poor grandson will cry and cry for his grandfather. While my daughter will come to hate Konoha and its ninjas."

Oh, right, she had forgotten about the pity story. Sakura looked at him in disbelief. Naruto shook his head, mouth hanging open. And Kakashi gave a sheepish chuckle, his hand scratching the back of his head.

"Well, I guess we can't leave you then." he remarked. Tazuna noticeably relaxed, his shoulders humped over with relief.

Sakura leaned back against the boat and sighed, the mist cool against her cheeks. She dreaded their inevitable run in with Zabuza and Haku. She had no doubts that she desired to assist a little more this time around. But how? During this mission she had always been assigned to Tazuna's hip. But that was because she was the weakest link in the team before.

Suddenly the boat jerked as it collided against something hard, resulting in Sakura toppling backwards - straight into the water below. The cold water enveloped her immediately, much to her dismay. She resurfaced, a foul look upon her face. Naruto, whom was standing on the dock now, hunched over and laughed for a moment. Sasuke climbed out, an amused smirk on his face while Kakashi and Tazuna just joined in chuckling as they calmly evacuated the small wooden boat.

"It's not funny, assholes!" Sakura barked, cheeks red with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, are you okay, Sakura?" Kakashi inquired, his only visible eye crinkled up happily. She rolled her eyes.

"I should just swim away to somewhere where I'm actually appreciated." she murmured when a hand was thrust in her face. She blinked and looked up at the owner of the hand and was surprised to see that it was Sasuke. "Oh, now you help." she said with a smile she couldn't resist upon her face. She then snatched his hand and allowed him to pull her up onto the dock.

"Hn. I guess I could have let you drown." he said, hands back in his pocket, back turned to her. Sakura shook her head and laughed.

"I think living is preferable." she said, quite pleased that she was actually able to have a few small conversations with the Uchiha already. But his personality was so much different when they had been Genin. It was like a cool summer night, warm but with a bitter breeze. In the old future it had become like the coldest of winter days, without warmth or compassion whatsoever.

As Genin, he would actually speak. Not try to come after them with the intentions of slaying them where they stood. Of course, before, when she had acted like a complete bimbo fangirl, Sasuke didn't give her the time of day. But now, since she stepped up some, he was treating her with respect. She was grateful because she honestly expected him not to even slightly warm up to until the Chunin Exams. She froze. _The Chunin Exams._ What was she going to do about them? She would have to plot something.

Sakura mentally shook her head, silent as she followed Tazuna and her comrades across the dock. Like before the streets were abandoned. The only sign of life was the occasional head sticking out from a window. But the moment they were spotted the person would slam their window shut and hide.

"What a ghost town." Naruto murmured, looking around with a curious azure gaze. Tazuna looked disheartened at the boy's words.

"It's because of the thugs and Gatoh's other hirelings." he stated, "Most are too afraid to come outside anymore unless they absolutely have to."

"That's a sad way to live life." Sakura said, eyes downcast. She had forgotten how the Land of Waves suffered before the Naruto Bridge was built. Before Gatoh was killed by his own hireling's hands.

"The bridge is our only hope to restoring this country to its former glory." Tazuna retorted, "That's why I've risked my life out there every day, trying to finish it. But my men keep getting killed off, day-by-day, like flies. I'm sick of it."

"We'll make sure that won't happy anymore." Kakashi stated as a path through a thicket of trees became visible.

"Thank you." Tazuna said, one hand adjusting his hat on his head, the other limp at his side.

As soon as they entered the forest Sakura felt a tingling sensation run up her spine. They were being watched. And had been since they reached the docks. She wondered if Kakashi had known the whole time. His collected composure told her otherwise, but he was highly skilled at pretending a calm façade. She decided to let things fall into place.

"There's someone there!" Naruto announced, throwing a kunai into the tree tops. When nothing happened he turned around and aimed for the bushes. "There!" he yelled, throwing the kunai. But instead of forcing any hidden ninja out of their hiding spot, he nearly took the head off of a snow rabbit.

"Naruto! Stop using your kunai carelessly!" Kakashi hissed. Naruto huffed and went over to where he threw his second kunai and picked up the rabbit.

"I'm sorry, little guy! I didn't mean to nearly decapitate you!" he wailed, holding the traumatized animal to his chest. Sakura rolled her eyes, a fond smile playing on her lips. _Once an idiot, always an idiot. _But the thought was lived short.

"Duck!" Kakashi hollered suddenly without warning. Everyone did as he said and not the beat of an eyelash later did a sword fly over where their heads had been just a moment ago and then lodge itself in the thick trunk of one of the trees a few feet from their position.

Sakura and the others raised up, eyes never leaving the sword. A second later a man appeared out of nowhere, standing on the hilt of the blade, his body toned and motionless.

"Well, if it isn't the Copy Cat Ninja of Konoha."

* * *

**Okay, that's it for now! I know it probably felt like I rambled on in this chapter. But it wasn't exactly the most fun to write. I had a hard time getting in what I wanted. But hopefully I showed what I wanted to show, which was that Sakura is getting more respect for stepping up to the plate while still making a few errors, such as getting injured, her chakra reserves being small, and her body being slower than her mind. I definitely don't want her to be some god-mode character.**

**Anyways, please tell me what you thought!**


	3. Beaten and Bruised on Arrival

**Author's note: First off I would like to thank those that reviewed! I really appreciate it by all means and hope that you continue to give your support. And I apologize for the lengthy wait! Anyways, this chapter will be focused on the first confrontation with Zabuza (which is going to be a little different than before) and then a few days of relaxation and training at Tazuna's house. I'm hopefully going to start veering more from the canon-line soon enough. Typically, I've noticed that people just include the same plot from the anime/manga here without too much exploring, and we all know that they stayed for at least two weeks in the Land of Waves.**

**...**

**REVISED EDITION**

**Chapter Three: Beaten and Bruised On Arrival**

**...**

"Zabuza, an exiled mist ninja." Kakashi retorted, his body naturally going into a defensive stance. "Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, protect Tazuna-san." he ordered without giving them a single glance, his eye trained on the enemy. Immediately the three Genin went into formation around Tazuna with Sakura to his right, Naruto to his left, and Sasuke guarding the front, all with a kunai in their hand.

"I'm honored that you know my name, Sharingan user." the exiled ninja stated, a smirk on his bandaged lips. Sasuke noticeably tensed beside Sakura at the mention of the 'Sharingan'. Before, during this mission, only Kakashi and Sasuke recognized and identified the term. But now Sakura knew. And she knew why he was startled. Only those of Uchiha descent were to bore the Sharingan. And Sasuke and Itachi were supposedly the only Uchiha left at that point.

"Sharingan? What the hell is that?" Naruto demanded, scratched his head, and blinked, utterly dumbfounded.

"It's a bloodline trait. Only passed down to . . . certain people." Sasuke answered, a conflicted expression upon his face, "It allows the user to see through others' actions and can copy certain techniques."

"Wow." Naruto muttered, impressed that his sensei possessed such an ability. They were snapped out of their little conversation when Kakashi himself spoke again.

"Do not enter the fight. This battle is mine." he said, raising the other side of his headband upward, to reveal his scared eyelid. Suddenly it snapped open, the Sharingan burning a hue equivalent only to blood red with three stoma focused around the pupil.

"To think that I get the opportunity to see the Copy Ninja's infamous Sharingan." Zabuza laughed, forming hand seals before raising one arm up into the air. "Let's see how your eyes do against this. Mist Concealment Jutsu!"

A heavy mist from the lake that cut through the forest suddenly covered the area, visibility becoming next to none. Sakura squinted, only able to see about ten feet in front of her. She had forgotten how thick Zabuza's mist was. And how nerve-wracking it was as well. Expecting the unexpected was a ninja know-how however, and she was completely prepared for the worst.

"The heart, kidneys, liver, pancreas, larynx, jugular, brain, lungs, all vital to surviving." Zabuza whispered through the mist, sending shivers down Sakura's spine and no doubt those standing near her. "Now, which would you prefer I slice first?" he inquired in a mocking, yet lethal, tone.

"I can't see anything!" Naruto shouted, shaking his head.

"Shut up, idiot. Do you want him to come straight at us in this?" Sasuke growled, eyes narrowed, his hand that held his kunai quivering. It was such a long time ago when she last saw Sasuke so unnerved, on edge, unfocused. It was just before he left the village in the old future. She didn't want to think about that moment again. Especially since she had a chance to prevent that from happening.

"You guys get out of here and take Tazuna-san with you!" Kakashi ordered, his form impossible to see through the fog. "I'll take care of things here." he added before the clashing of metal could be heard.

"I don't think so!" Zabuza barked, him and Kakashi visible now as they neared the lake's glassy surface.

"Go!" Kakashi commanded heavily, kunai drawn in his hand. Zabuza leaped onto the water, chakra pumped into his feet to keep him from sinking like a rock, his hands forming quick hand signs.

"We're not leaving without you, sensei!" Naruto retorted hotly, his hands clenched down near his sides in the form of tightly made fists.

"Good choice. Well, the only choice, actually." Zabuza remarked, a water clone appearing close to where the Genin were.

"Damn." Kakashi mumbled, running toward the clone. Zabuza had other plans however and decided to use the distraction as a way to trap Kakashi inside of a water prison. "Shit."

"Haha, now, why don't we observe?" Zabuza said loudly, "It will be entertaining to watch those three twerps get slaughtered by a mere clone of myself."

"Don't underestimate me!" Naruto bellowed, racing toward the clone, his fingers forming a cross-like symbol with the use of both hands. A horde of orange-clad clones suddenly appeared behind him, all charging at the Zabuza replica. Sakura already knew that the attack was futile before it even landed.

The water clone readied his blade in his hands and leaped into the air, slashing through Naruto's clones with skillfully aimed swings, dispatching them all with ease. He then came head-to-head with Naruto and sliced the air. The blonde pivoted hard to the right, narrowly missing the assault. "That was close!" he said before summoning a few more shadow clones.

"If it didn't work once, don't try it again." the clone mocked as Naruto neared, teeth bared, oceanic gaze burning. The clone smirked and gracefully cut through Naruto's clones, his movements so swift it appeared as if he was dancing through them, his blade an apparatus in his hands. Once the clones had disappeared in clouds of smoke, Zabuza's lookalike delivered a powerful kick to Naruto's mid-section, sending him sprawling across the ground, a tight, pinched look on his face as he clamped his hands over his abdomen.

"Ugh." Naruto groaned, writhing around on the ground for a moment. He then sat up and glared at the clone.

"Pathetic. Just stay down." the clone advised, "Aren't you through embarrassing yourself?" Naruto only glared and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his split lip bleeding. He stood.

"What are you talking about?" he said, now in a fighting stance, "I'm just getting started!" he added, lunging forward on the tips of his feet, a kunai in hand.

"We'll see about that." the water clone remarked as Naruto neared. Once in reach Naruto began throwing punch and kick after punch and kick, while the clone dodged each well-aimed blow without even breaking a sweat, a look of boredom in his eyes. "You're too slow."

"Shut the hell up!" Naruto snapped, throwing more punches and kicks.

"I'm tired of this nonsense. You're not entertaining enough." he said, catching Naruto's foot and using the hilt of his blade to punch him in the face. The Genin yelped and flew back, landing hard on his back.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried out, nervous for her friend's well-being, despite the fact that she knew with great certainty that he would survive this battle. She couldn't help it though. It was her motherly, protective side coming out. Suddenly Sasuke shifted beside her. She glanced towards him and saw his conflicted expression still in tact. He was arguing with himself, probably about whether or not he should enter the battle. She, on the other hand, had decided that she wouldn't enter this battle. She would stay at Tazuna's hip like last time and join in on the bridge confrontation, when it was more necessary.

"Now, it's time to deal with the rest of you." the clone stated, averting his attention towards Sasuke and Sakura, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Sakura gulped and readied herself, her feet spreading a little further apart to give her more stability just as he lunged towards them at full speed.

Sasuke looked off-guard, surprised by the sudden leap. Sakura bared her teeth, her hands shaking. Her instincts told her to do something, to move, but she knew that this battle was essential to the growth of Naruto and Sasuke's teamwork and the start of their friendship. If she interfered she feared that she would somehow stunt that growth from developing - that and their friendship would form a seed of doubt in Sasuke's mind about going for revenge later down the line. He had said before, that night when he left her on that dreaded bench, that he was happy with Team Seven. That they were like a family to him.

If she were to tarnish something of such value, she would never forgive herself.

Zabuza was getting closer, the grim on his tan skin becoming visible to her eyes. Beside her, Sasuke stood motionless, eyes widening with each millisecond that passed. Her legs were itching to budge forward, to come between Zabuza and Sasuke. He was almost there. Just one more step and he would be upon them. And that's when she took action - right at the last second. She threw her body in harm's way, her chakra infused kunai out in front of her in her right-hand, her left-hand cuffed around the hilt of the knife to provide extra support. He grunted and slung his sword forward, the blade connecting with Sakura's kunai. She had the right amount of chakra pumped into the kunai to stop the attack, but the muscles in her arms weren't up to par. His blade slung around with slight resistance and connected with her upper arm.

"Gah!" Sakura whimpered, sweat beaded on her forehead, her arm burning with an explosion of pain before gushing blood. Her kunai was too small a weapon to defend against it properly, she realized. But had she been older, her muscles more honed, it wouldn't have been a problem. The blade had burrowed itself so deeply into her right arm that it was just mere centimeters from the bone.

"Sakura!" Kakashi hollered out. She couldn't see him, but his concerned tone of voice was enough.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried out, propping himself up with one arm. Sakura groaned and leaned back slightly, her back hitting Sasuke's chest, then pushed against the water clone with chakra infused in the muscles of her arms and in the metal of her kunai. He was overwhelmed by her strength and thrown back. He landed on his feet about seven yards back, giving them enough room to prepare for another attack or one of their own.

"Sakura," Sasuke began as he eased her down to the ground. The pain in her arm was a lot more excruciating than what she had initially anticipated. It felt like a pinched nerve yet deeper and with a strong, acute burning, stinging sensation. She gulped down air and looked up at Sasuke. A flash of regret and shame went through his onyx irises. He was blaming himself for what happened to her.

She didn't want, nor need, any of his pity.

"Don't worry about me." she said, "I'll stay here with Tazuna." Sasuke seemed to hesitate - or perhaps she imagined that in her haze - and gave her a nod before he dashed off to confront the water clone, his movements swift and doubtless.

"Sakura," Tazuna started, hunching down and placing a hand on her back, "will you be alright? That looks really bad."

"Yeah." Sakura retorted, her arm limp and useless at her side. There was no movement in it. Though when she did try to lift the appendage, it was too agonizing. She would definitely have to expend chakra to heal it up - and right away. She gritted her teeth. If she didn't, then there could be permanent repercussions. Which was something she did not want to cope with for the rest of her life. She focused healing chakra into her left-hand and began working on repairing the nerves right away. That was the main issue. She didn't mind to let the skin seal itself shut, but the muscle and nerves were top priority.

In the meanwhile Sasuke charged towards the water clone, moving so quickly that he didn't give the clone time to ready his sword. And just before Sasuke could land a hit on him he managed to dodge and flip away, his sword now steady in his hand.

"There's no use in that." he said with a laugh. Sasuke kept his composure and tossed three shuriken in the clone's direction. He easily deflected them with one swing of his sword. "What a childish move. Everyone knows that kunai and shuriken rarely are able to hit an opponent." Sakura blinked. That was true.

Sasuke didn't respond to his words. Instead he charged in once again, feigning a stomach jab. When the clone went to dodge, Sasuke reappeared behind him and attempted a kick to the back of his knee, but the clone jumped to avoid the sweeping kick and twisted in the air, using the momentum to sling his blade around. Sasuke gasped as the blade connected with his mid-section, cutting deep enough to severe his torso from his legs.

"Sasuke!" Sakura and Naruto wailed in unison, eyes-wide with fear. It seemed as if his body moved in slow motion as he slumped to the ground. Sakura instantly felt tears burning at the corners of her eyes, her breaths coming out in short, quick pants of panic. She didn't remembering that happening before - obviously because it didn't happen before. Had her interference in the battle actually affected the outcome that much?

Had she known she never would have done it in the first place. Guilt ran up her spine and her stomach churned and twisted painfully, tears freely falling down her cheeks at this point - that was one thing that never changed: she was easy to make cry. Always had been. She felt a sob making it's way to her throat just as quickly as Sasuke's body was enveloped in a thick smoke that quickly dispersed and in its place laid a tattered stump.

Sakura sighed with relief, her pounding heart put at ease. A substitution jutsu.

"Ha. I shouldn't be surprised." the clone said, extending the hand that bore his blade outward, "But it matters little. You can keep executing your petty tricks. Either way, you are going to die here. Right. Now."

"We'll have to see about that." Sasuke announced, leaping out from a nearby treetop. Zabuza's clone looked up and followed Sasuke's motions through the air. The Uchiha flipped forward, his hands performing hand signs on his way down. Once he reached the ground, he took a deep breath, his shoulders pinching back hard, and exhaled as heavy as he could, his shoulders going back to a normal position. Following the exhalation a large cloud of fire rippled through the air, exiting his mouth and consuming the clone's being.

The heat was overwhelming, while the golden flame was vexing to the eyes. Sakura shook her head. Now wasn't the time to become sidetracked. She glanced over to Kakashi to see that Zabuza was distracted by Sasuke and the water clone's fight, eyes fixated upon Sasuke's self-created flames.

Sakura smirked. She had an idea.

"Naruto!" she hissed loudly, looking over at her recovered teammate. "Go try to free Kakashi-sensei while Sasuke preoccupies the clone!"

"Right!" Naruto chirped, stumbling to his feet. Sakura sighed and watched him race off in Kakashi and the original Zabuza's direction. Perhaps Sasuke already immobilized the clone.

"I don't think so, brat." the clone said, appearing before Naruto without a moment's warning. The blonde growled and summoned more shadow clones on the field to back him up. "You're too predictable." he said, dodging the clones to land a powerful blow to Naruto's jaw. The Uzumaki yelped before being thrown back, his clones disappearing one-by-one.

Sasuke ran into the rescue, teeth bared, contemplative look on his face. He was attempting to conjure up a plan no doubt. "Sasuke!" Naruto yelled. Sakura glanced over at Naruto to see him pull out a windmill shuriken from his backpack and toss it to Sasuke. It was about time.

The young Uchiha smirked and readied the windmill shuriken, fanning it out to its full blade-span. "Shadow Demon Windmill Shuriken Technique." he muttered, pouncing so quickly into the air that he was hard to catch visually. He then tossed the shuriken over the unsuspecting water clone's head and towards Zabuza himself.

Zabuza looked startled, eyes going wide. Sakura watched, knowing he was too skilled to be taken out by an over-sized shuriken, even with one hand preoccupied. He spread his legs a little farther apart, preparing his body for the force. As the projectile neared, he narrowed his eyes.

"Ha." Zabuza growled, catching the windmill shuriken with his freehand, uninjured. But as soon as he went to relax another appeared without warning. "There was one hiding in the other's shadow?" he yelled in disbelief, the spinning weapon already dangerously close. His body tensed up, muscles flexing as he simply leaped over top of the lethal projectile. "You twerps thought you could actually fool me with that?" he demanded, landing back on top of the water's surface, a conceited expression marring his face.

"Hn. Yeah." Sasuke answered, just as the second windmill shuriken puffed into a cloud of smoke and became Naruto with a kunai in his hand.

"Take this!" Naruto howled, tossing the kunai effortlessly.

"What?!" Zabuza hissed, having to rip his hand out of the water prison in order to avoid the kunai, successfully freeing Kakashi from his short-lived captivity and deactivating his clone at the same time. The Jonin rose to his full height, hair weighed with water, clothes drenched and slouching against his frame. "Tch."

"You just underestimated those 'twerps'." Kakashi pointed out, his demeanor calm, collected, and cool.

"Perhaps. And maybe I overestimated you." Zabuza mused, eyes connecting with Kakashi's gaze. Sakura knew things would start to go down hill for Zabuza from there on.

It was a game of mockery and imitation. Zabuza would gracefully form a hand seal and Kakashi would copy the same motion flawlessly and effortlessly, only causing the former to slowly lose his wits until he was beginning to spout off insults in his own defense. It finally resulted in Zabuza flooding the surrounding land out of rage and in a desperate attempt to free his mind from Kakashi's Sharingan.

As the battle continued on in the same pattern for a few moments, Sakura's vision began to waver in and out. She hissed and turned her gaze back to her the upper part of her right arm where her left hand laid, a veil of flickering green chakra surrounding the appendage. Sakura clenched her eyes shut momentarily. She was already low on chakra.

"How - ugh - damn annoying." she grumbled, dropping her hand from the wound, breathing heavily. She took a deep breath to calm herself and attempted to move her wounded arm. Though there was a dull, burning pain, she was able to lift her arm and flex her fingers at least. She sighed with relief. Expending her chakra was definitely worth it in the end.

"Sakura?" Tazuna inquired from beside her, his voice sounding distant. She shook her head, small specks of black dotting her vision - the first signs of passing out. It was a feeling she had felt multiply times before.

"I . . ." she began breathlessly, her eyes going blank, head lolling to the side with fatigue. The last thing she saw was a huge wave of water rising from the lake on which Zabuza and Kakashi stood before the ground came spiraling into view.

* * *

When Sakura awoke, she was laying on a comfortable bed covered in a thick, warm blanket. She groaned and sat up, her head pounding and her right arm sore. She blinked to clear her vision before taking in her surroundings: a small room with nothing but a bed, dresser, and wooden night stand with a lamp in sight. To her right there was square window barely jarred open to let in a relaxing breeze and a sliver of bright, morning light. Immediately she wondered just how long she had been unconscious.

Based on the persistent throbbing in her skull she would guess at least twenty-four hours. Her injury wasn't the cause, but chakra exhaustion and physical strain. Sakura gritted her teeth. Despite her extensive knowledge of medical jutsu and taijutsu, she was still somewhat a hindrance. "Damn it."

She didn't get too ponder too much longer before the door to the room was slid open and in poked Kakashi's head, his only visible eye expressing relief. "How are you feeling?" he questioned as he stepped into the room. Sakura turned her eyes to her arm which was bandaged up. A few specks of blood soiled the linen.

"Good." she answered with a genuine smile. Though she was still fatigued and her arm ached, she had felt a lot worse. A prime example would be Naruto wounded her while cloaked in the Nine-Tail Fox's chakra. "How long was I out?"

"Three days." Kakashi remarked, surprising Sakura. He sighed as he shifted his weight onto his left leg and added: "Your chakra had been completely drained." Sakura frowned and dropped her gaze onto the floor.

"I have a very low chakra reserve." she muttered, ashamed. "I have great chakra control. But the techniques I use just devour it all." Kakashi gave a slight nod.

"Then we'll work on your stamina during training." he stated. Sakura felt her heart flutter with hope, a larger-than-life grin making its way to her face. Before, Kakashi had never focused on her nor offered to work with her specifically in such a way. It boosted her confidence.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." she said, pleased. Kakashi's eyes crinkled up to signify that he was, indeed, smiling beneath his mask, before he turned to leave the room.

"Now get cleaned up and meet down stairs for breakfast." he said. "The stairs are at the very left of the hallway and the bathroom is directly across from here."

When Kakashi was out of sight, the door shut, Sakura got to her feet and peered around the room, finding her yellow bag propped against the foot of the bed. She quickly fished out a clean outfit and undergarments and made her way to the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later she emerged, clean and changed, a cloud of steam following her out of the bathroom. She quickly made the bed that she was kindly offered and proceeded to the end of the hall to the wooden set of steps.

In the kitchen, at the table, Tazuna, his grandson and daughter, and her teammates, all sat around a plentiful breakfast, their plates full and uncomfortably enough, their eyes glued to her. A sudden warmth raced up her neck and flared into her cheeks. "Um, good morning." she said meekly.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto chirped, getting to his feet and rushing over to her to embrace her in a tight squeeze. She fought back a yelp of pain, his left arm pressed firmly against her wound, and smiled. She did adore the blonde after all and was pleased he was so enthused to see her alive and well.

"Naruto, let her breath." Kakashi scolded. Naruto released Sakura and pouted before returning to his seat.

"Join us." Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, urged, pointing at the empty seat between Naruto and Sasuke.

"Thank you." Sakura mumbled, approaching the table and taking a seat. Immediately she was handed a clean plate and a set of chopsticks that she graciously accepted with a smile and another 'thank you' while her stomach growled loudly to voice its approval. The food in front of her didn't stand a chance against her current appetite.

"Hurry up and eat." Kakashi interjected, watching the female of his team generously filling up her plate. After a slight pause he add: "After this we're going out to train for a few hours."

* * *

Approximately thirty minutes later, Sakura, along with the other members of the original Team Seven, found themselves in the same thicket of woods from the old future to train in. There was a small, grassy clearing with large, looming trees on either side. Kakashi was on crutches due to the physical strain that his Sharingan had on him. A fact that Sakura had failed to notice earlier (which she blamed her at the time hazy brain for) and stood before his three students. Sasuke stood to her left and Naruto to her right, the former appearing aloof while the latter was jittery with excitement.

"I'm going to start off by explaining the basics of chakra." Kakashi announced, leaning a little more of his weight against his right crutch. Naruto groaned and shook his head, an irritated expression visible upon his visage.

"I already know this!" he exclaimed. "It's chatora, right?" A pause of awkward silence ensued.

". . . It's chakra." Kakashi mumbled, a crestfallen look quickly making its way to Naruto's face. The white-headed ninja shook his head and averted his gaze to the female of the team. "Sakura, care to elaborate?"

"Of course not, sensei." she answered and turned towards her fellow teammates. "Chakra is energy that a ninja needs to execute any type of jutsu." she began, "There are two types: physical - which is gained from each cell in the body - and spiritual - which you gain over time with experience." Naruto yawned in the background while Sasuke remained aloof. She sighed and continued: "When a ninja uses a technique, they use both of these energies, otherwise known as 'combining the chakra'."

"That's exactly right!" Kakashi praised from behind Sakura. "Iruka-sensei really does have some good students."

"Hey!" Naruto bellowed, once more irritated. "I may not understand difficult explanations, but I can still learn these things physically!" Sasuke nodded to voice his agreement.

"Naruto is absolutely right." the Uchiha said and tucked his hands into the depths of his pockets, head tilted to the side. "We already know how to perform jutsu. This lesson is completely irrelevant." Kakashi sighed and shook his head from left to right.

"No," he muttered, "you still don't know how to use your chakra efficiently."

"What?! You can't be serious, sensei!" Naruto blared in disbelief. Sakura couldn't help but internally giggle at his nativity. To think that he would one day become one of the most powerful ninja in existence.

"As Sakura explained earlier," Kakashi said, "when you use a jutsu, you combine physical chakra with spiritual chakra. It has to be balanced in order for jutsu to be executed properly. Using too much chakra just strains the body and you won't be able to battle for extended periods of time."

"Um, then what should we do?" Naruto inquired sheepishly while raising one hand up to scratch the back of his head, a dumb grin on his face.

"It's difficult training that requires you to put your life on the line to master!" Kakashi stated in an overly dramatic tone of voice. Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes where she stood. Naruto and Sasuke, however, looked a little surprised, the former even a little nervous.

"W-What is it?!" Naruto questioned with a gulp. Kakashi raised a hand out in front of him, two fingers extended.

"Tree-climbing." he answered calmly.

"Tree-climbing?!" the blonde demanded in surprise. Kakashi only bobbed his head.

"That's right." he said, "You will be climbing, but without your hands!"

"How the hell do you expect us to do that?" Naruto barked. Kakashi turned towards a nearby tree and formed a hand seal, his chakra visibly focused into the soles of his his feet with a ring of dust.

"Like this." Kakashi said, wobbling over to one of the trees and casually placing one foot upon its wide trunk. A moment later he was walking perpendicular to the tree with the usage of only his feet (which was rather humorous with his crutches). Sasuke and Naruto both gasped in surprise. "Simply focus your chakra into your feet and you will be able to 'stick' to the tree. If you are able to use chakra well, you will be able to do such things. Even walk on water."

"Tch. How will this help us become stronger?" Sasuke inquired, a deep scowl upon his face.

"This is technique is very difficult even for expert leveled ninja." Kakashi stated, standing upside down on a branch stable enough to support his weight. "The feet is the hardest place to accumulate chakra. Therefore, if you are able to master this you will be able to learn any jutsu - in theory that is."

"Oh . . ." Naruto murmured, eyebrows clenched together.

"The second aim of this lesson is to learn how to combine chakra." Kakashi continued: "This well help you maintain your chakra during battle and not tire out as easily. But saying this and that won't help." He pulled out three kunai and flicked them towards his students, one burying itself in front of each Genin. "Use these to mark where you get on the tree trunk. You won't succeed in reaching the top your first time, therefore the kunai will help keep track of your progress. Understood?" All three nodded. "Now Begin!"

Immediately all three snatched up a kunai, formed the appropriate hand seal, and focused chakra into their feet. And just like before, they all lunged forward. Naruto slipped after two steps up the trunk of his chosen tree; Sasuke reached about twenty feet up; and as expected from herself, Sakura, climbed the full length of her tree, even going as far to mimic Kakashi and stand upside down on one of the thicker branches near the top.

"This is pretty easy." Sakura said, quoting her former self, with a smirk. Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi all looked at her, surprised. "I guess you boys are just going to have to try harder." she added in a playful tone.

"Wow! Way to go, Sakura-chan!" Naruto hollered from below. She only smiled before walking to the other side of the branch and sitting down on her rump, legs crossed. Sasuke only frowned in response. To think she had been so upset over the Uchiha's disappointed glance before.

"It appears that the female member of our team has astounding chakra control." Kakashi pointed out. "Which shouldn't come as too much of a surprise seeing as how she can use medical ninjutsu; which relies highly on chakra control."

"It's not hard; don't over apply chakra where you get a large burst of speed, nor apply a bare minimal to where there's just a slight tingle in your feet." Sakura suggested with a nod. The two on the ground both looked down in thought.

"You two keep practicing for a few hours; Sakura and I are going to move on to another part of the training." Kakashi commanded, earning an expression of surprise from the female of his team. He turned his head and crinkled up his only visible eye knowingly. "There's no need to hold you back." Sakura felt her lips form a smile.

"Thanks, sensei."

* * *

**Alright, this is all for now. I know things changed a lot. But that's kind of the plan. I don't want to stick strictly to the canon events. Of course, the confrontation with Zabuza and Haku on the bridge is inevitable. Please tell me what you thought and forgive me for the ridiculous wait!**


End file.
